Participation in war can create dramatic conditions and experiences for the mental health and well-being of military personnel. During the 20th century, American military psychiatrists attempted to treat the problematic mental consequences of war while helping to achieve the military goal of preserving the number of personnel available for work and diminishing the weakening impact of the syndromes. psychiatric by implementing screening programs to detect factors that may predispose individuals to mental disorders, providing early intervention strategies for difficult war-related syndromes, and treating long-term psychiatric disability after deployment. Screening results have proven disappointing, the effects of treatment near the front lines have become unclear, and the results of treatment of chronic post-war syndromes are mixed. After the Persian Gulf War, a number of military physicians made innovative proposals for a population-based approach, rooted in primary care rather than specialty care. This approach seems the most promising for the future. In the story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'brien talks about the multiple burdens that individual soldiers carried. They carried the emotions of the fear to come, of their families who might have been left behind. It also speaks to the literal physical burdens they carry as soldiers. Although physical burdens affect soldiers, what influences them the most are their emotional problems. The "burden" depicted in the story are the soldiers' many burdens related to fear, responsibility, vulnerability, and their reputation. These burdens such as fear will only weaken one on the battlefield, making them a victim of enemies and eventually...... middle of paper ...... long and dissipate the stress that would have prevented soldiers to think clearly differently. Psychiatric improvements led to proposed selection processes: “Salmon advised the U.S. armed forces to screen recruits and exclude “insane, feeble-minded, psychopathic, and neuropathic individuals.” (2) These individuals suffering from illnesses such as schizophrenia and mental retardation limited the soldiers' ability to provide adequate service. Therefore, preventing psychiatric problems during war became an important tool for success. By screening potential soldiers who might have mental problems, psychiatrists were believed to have contributed greatly to the war efforts. The psychiatrist focused his attention on selection because he believed that the selection of volunteers and recruits would "eliminate soldiers who would be predisposed to collapse »..